Pulse Director Doesn't Dig the MPAA or the PG13

The American version of Kairo (aka Pulse) feels like it's been "coming soon" for about three years now. The flick's seen multiple release dates and delays, re-shoots and re-snips for the MPAA, and then one final debut jump with no press screenings in sight ... Voila. Pulse opens today at a theater near you.

But first-time director Jim Sonzero has a few bones left to pick with the MPAA, as evidenced in this recent interview at Bloody-Disgusting.com (which I find semi-ironic, in that PG-13 "thrillers" are generally neither bloody nor disgusting). The director joked that "nobody under 66" was involved in the rating process, and he goes on to state "The MPAA, the studio wanted the PG-13 audience because we wanted to tap into and exploit Kristen Bell's market."

Spoken like a true auteur. Mr. Sonzero also makes it very clear that he's an "R-rated" movie fan who doesn't much care for PG-13-style genre flicks, which is just ironic enough to avoid discussing.

After some censor-friendly snips, Pulse is now rated PG-13 for "intense sequences of sci-fi terror, disturbing images, language, sensuality and thematic material," which makes me wonder why we even have a rating system at this point. One this arbitrary and stupid, anyway.